July 29, 2010

The Details.

We've got our pictures back from our photographer, and I'd love to share some of the little details with you. Chris and I spent endless hours making things for our do, and we were really happy with the results.


The linen hankie that I embroidered for Chris.

My bouquet. I couldn't have loved it more. Made by Alison.

Our handmade invites.

And programs.

I sewed and embroidered a stack of flags that people could wave at the end of our ceremony. It was one of my favourite details.


I wrote out everyone's escort envelope, which included hand-written notes to each person inside.
Table numbers!

Hand-stamped ribbons shared the evening's menu.

Beautiful flowers in vases wrapped in baker's twine secured with tiny toy mushrooms. Each table was lined with a runner made by my mother.

Some of our childhood relics displayed.

One of our many vignettes. This one was made with tiny mushrooms and figurines riding bikes.

We strung an excerpt of I Like You (which was read during our ceremony) from baker's twine in our bar area.


Another vignette! In a tiny belljar!

Handmade flags attached to straws. We figured people liked them as they were drinking their beer from them.

Enjoy! Crafts are fun, right?

July 25, 2010

Summer is a good time to make things.

Well, a happy Sunday to you!

Since I got home from our trip to France, one of my main goals has been to set up my little calligraphy and design biz. This week I finished making promos and updating my website, which gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. You can see my samples here. So if you ever need someone to write something pretty for you, I can do it!


In other exciting news, I found these twin mushrooms:


And I've been busy making things for friends. One of my recently completed projects is an art roll for a friend, filled with lovely pencil crayons and a sharpener. Perfect to throw in your bag, because you never know when you'll need to sketch.

All rolled up.

Filled with pencils and mermaids.

Today we're going to get some new kitchen knives (hurrah!) and roti (even better!).

What have you been working on this summer?

July 20, 2010

July 7, 2010

To The Market!

There's a lovely little farmer's market just around the corner every Tuesday. And before this summer, I'd only been once. Shame! So I've committed myself to trying to buy groceries there every week, if I can. My sister and I made it out last week (and again, yesterday), and of course I documented the event.


Lavender from Niagara. And my sister.


There are two very smart guys who have set up a fry booth. They double-fry the organic potatoes, then toss them in sea salt and thyme. And then the smell wafts, and people come.

People like me. Let's just say it was worth the extra dose of insulin.


I took home a bunch of lavender and put it in some of small bottles that we've collected. I hung a few of them up on the wall beside our desk, dangling from a bit of baker's twine.


It smells pretty nice, which helps me concentrate when I'm writing grant applications.

Another item: I got a bit obsessed with red pants when we were in France, but I can't really go out and buy much right now. So I made a visit to the Double Take and found two pairs for $5 (success!). I took the first pair out for a walk, with some of my sweet honeymoon purchases: a navy top from Claudie Pierlot and sweet sandals from Camper.



After catching a show at the Fringe, we may or may not have ended the night eating ribs and corn that we bought off of Church Street during Pride. They may or may not have been delicious.

July 1, 2010

Lune de Miel!

I thought I should probably share some pictures that we took on our trip to France. I took a ton of photos on my sweet Diana, but it seems like it may be time for a new Diana - I think her lens is shot.

We started off in Paris for a few days. We stayed in a lovely little apartment near the Bastille, just a quick walk to the Marais. This was the view from the apartment - not bad, hey?

We ate at the Bistrot Paul Bert on our first evening, which was a recommendation from a chef friend. The white asparagus were delicious and HUGE, and I couldn't complain about the dessert:

We were serenaded by this guy outside of our apartment one evening - a one-man band.


We spent some time driving through the Loire and visited Chenonceaux, thereby fulfilling a childhood dream of mine. We got there early enough on a Monday that we nearly had the place to ourselves.


We ran through the maze, toured the chateau and I enjoyed wandering through the flower gardens.


Dinner in the Loire valley. That's some serious bacon in that salad. Following the salad, I ordered the "special" sausage for dinner. Our server said that she liked it and that it was very "strong". It was tripe. I tried to be open minded but did not succeed.


Our home-base in the South: Hyeres. Quiet and beautiful. We spent a day exploring and ended up at the 12th century castle that overlooks the town. No one else was there.


A dinner of mussels & chorizo in the town square.


We took a day trip to the beautiful Ile de Porquerolles, about a 20 minute boat ride from the coast of Hyeres. This is me in my swimmie:


A drive through the Riviera ended with dinner in Menton:


A brief stop at the beach in Eze:


A wonderful day in Aix-en-Provence, which is still a favourite town of mine. We stumbled across a strange little museum.


It was market day, and we strolled through the flower market (heaven!)...


...the fruit and vegetable market...



...and the meat & fish market.


Our day ended with a truly excellent dinner at the Bistrot des Philosophes.




We spent a few days wandering through the tiny, picturesque towns in Provence before heading back to Paris for another day.


Also, I may have purchased a few things. I'll photograph them and show you later. Promise.